Three Fundamental Principles To Getting Results

I find that most people do not get the results they want at the gym because they fail to focus on three key aspects and instead get distracted by the little things such as 'wonder supplements'.  No pill or powder will fill in for not getting these 3 key principles right.

1, Train consistently in the gym with the required frequency and effort every training session

You must train hard and be prepared to bust your ass in the gym. This is one of the secrets of why facilities such as Ultimate Performance where I coach get our clients such great results. We push people harder than they have previously ever done when training.

Training harder also means getting stronger. There must be progression of some sort, whether it be using more weight, doing more reps or reducing the rest period which would serve to increase training density.  Muscle is metabolically active a tissue so the more you build of it the better your metabolic rate will be which increase your bodies demand for nutrients at rest. Its also not easy to build so don't concern yourself whether you are male or female about getting 'too bulky'. Being 'bulky' is normally because your body fat is too high.

Consistency means getting to the gym enough times per week in order to stimulate an adequate training effect. Put the date in your diary, block out that hour at least three times per week. Your body will thank you for it.

The type of programme you use is important but in my opinion is secondary to actually putting in effort. There is no such thing as a ‘perfect programme’ and many people have created great results with less then stellar exercise regimes because they dug in worked hard!

Keeping a log of your training is an important aspect as you need to be able to access how you are progressing and adjust future programmes accordingly to enhance the training effect. If you don’t bother to write down your performance how are you supposed to target to beat that in the next workout? Every one responds differently to a style of training so without this critical analysis it’s like shooting a shot gun into a dark room in the hope you hit something.

This guy knew that he had to put in the work to see results

2, Eat to support your training goal.

If your goal is to add muscle then you must consistently intake a small positive nutrient intake to provide your body with the raw materials to build new muscle tissue.

For fat loss you must create a deficit in order to encourage your body to use body fat as fuel. Yes there are lots of arguments about “is a calorie a calorie” however that is a deep topic I won’t expand on in this article. 

Whether you try to create a positive or negative calorie intake accuracy is important here. For fat loss it’s very easy to overeat and ruin the deficit you are trying to create even when eating primarily whole foods. Typically this happens when someone over consumes nutrient dense foods such as nuts and oils which can quickly add a lot of calories to a persons overall intake. 

This is why I give students specific numbers or weight of nuts/oils they are to consume rather than a guideline of ‘a handful’ as there is far too much variability in what someone would consider a handful. 

Creating a deficit is most effective when it is created through a combination of diet and exercise.When trying to add muscle its also very easy to overeat, putting on too much body fat at the same time which in future can be troublesome to remove.  

Whether it be a positive or negative intake you are trying to create you have to choose to make the effort regarding your food choices. You always choose how much you eat; it will never magically jump into your mouth. 

If you over consume food and ruin the deficit you need to create to encourage fat loss or eat too much when adding weight and make yourself over fat then you should take responsibility for this and accept that you choose to make this happen.

This guy confused creating a positive intake for muscle gains with preparing for sumo wrestling

3, Ensure adequate Recovery

Sleep

Sleep is crucial to support recovery as it is the most restorative time for you body. Lack of adequate sleep has a whole host of negative side effects including interfering with hormone balance in, increasing inflammation and reduced cognitive function.

In my experience there is no way to get around not sleeping enough, you simply have to make the effort to prioritise this and ensure that you get enough hours of quality sleep that includes full sleep cycles.

If you find that you have trouble getting off to sleep or wake up during the night then this needs to be investigated more deeply as to why this is happening and then addressed.

Artificial lighting and over stimulating entertainment (TV, Computers) have contributed to interfering with the evening time which should be focused on winding down and relaxation.

Stress

Managing stress is the second area and this is a combination of emotional, physical and environmental based stress.

Emotional based Stress

How you hold your stress in important too. The stress response as explained excellently in this book ‘why zebras don’t get ulcers’ by Robert M. Sapolsky is largely governed by how you react to things.

Elevated stress affects many bodily functions including digestion, blood pressure and cognitive function. This is the ‘fight or flight’ response which gives you the ability to get out of danger quickly and then be able to resume a normal level. The mechanism was never designed to experience a constant ‘background’ level of stress over an extended period of time.

Environmental Stress

We unfortunately assaulted daily with environmental stressors including air pollution, chemicals contained in cosmetic and cleaning products, artificial additives in food and contaminants in water. This area is very important to address as its becoming an ever growing problem. 

A book I recommend on this is subject is ‘Achieving Victory In A Toxic World by Dr Mark A Schauss

Physical Stress

Exercise in itself is a stressor on the body. Its this stress which is planned correctly promotes the body to adapt and get stronger so that it can better deal with the same stressor the next time. This is the basis of progressive overload. 

That being said the ‘prescription’ of exercise needs to be appropriate and needs to encourage a positive adaption. Excessive exercise through bad exercise programming is actually negative and the lack of recovery from will halt someone’s progress very quickly.

Creating too great a deficit with your food intake is another sure fire way to quickly stress out your body physically. Dieting needs to be done at the appropriate speed that doesn’t lead to the body perceiving the event as ‘famine’ and putting the stoppers on fat loss.

Ways to improve recovery

There are many ‘force multipliers’ that you can use to enhance recovery which include massage, magnesium baths, contrast showers and soft exercise such as some forms of Yoga, Tai Chi and Qi gong or even gentle swimming and walking.

There are also some supplements which can assist in promoting recovery such as adaptogenic herbs and certain vitamins however I feel that without addressing the key psychological aspects of stress that these are no better than a band aid and might only work temporarily.

Recovery also means if you are genuinely training hard you cannot expect to go 100% in the gym all of the time and the need for periods of ‘de-loading’ and active recovery where you do some less intensive forms of exercise are important to ensure continued progress and avoid burning out.

Investing the time utilise active recovery methods such as foam rolling, massage, Yoga, Tai Chi or just ensuring you give yourself enough 'you time' to relax is crucial

To wrap up if you are not getting the results that you expect first relook over what you are doing and ask yourself if you are doing the right things in the three key areas outlined above?